The Defense Health Agency-Public Health Armed Forces Health Surveillance Division Global Emerging Infections Surveillance Branch is partnering with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the release of a journal supplement for the November 2024 issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Epidemiologists, physicians, and scientists working within AFHSD’s Global Emerging Infections Surveillance Branch worked in partnership with the CDC for two years to create the supplement.

“The articles in this supplement illustrate the importance of what the GEIS network does for the Department of Defense and the critical role surveillance plays in supporting force health protection and public health decision-making,” said U.S. Army Maj. (Dr.) Hunter Jackson Smith, the GEIS Focus Area Lead for Antimicrobial Resistant Infections. “The supplement highlights the role of GEIS, the breadth and depth of surveillance activities conducted by its funded partners, the interconnectivity of its global network, and the scope of its collaborations.”

With the increase in global travel changing environmental conditions and the rise of new pathogens, infectious diseases pose an evolving threat to public health.

“It is important that we highlight the expansive capabilities and accomplishments that our global partner network brings to the early warning of pathogens that may emerge and spread,” said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Matthew Kasper, Chief of the Global Emerging Infections Surveillance program. “Their subject matter expertise, combined with decades of dedication to supporting the health of the warfighter, are instrumental in ensuring the DOD is prepared to respond to the next biothreat.”

Two articles of particular interest in the November supplement are:

The Central Role of the Global Emerging Infections Surveillance Program in Supporting Force Health Protection – J.M. Early, et al. - This article describes the current functions of GEIS, its history, and vision for the future.

Respiratory Disease Surveillance in the Middle East and Latin America during the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020–2022 – Y.O. Tinoco, et al - This article characterizes the epidemiology of respiratory pathogens in the Middle East and Latin America during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This free supplement is available on the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal public domain page at https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/about.